Bud Light is scoring touchdowns before Super Bowl 2014 kicks off in a multichannel campaign that offers an overnight hotel stay and game tickets via a mobile application.

By taking its campaign mobile with applications, videos and a sweepstakes, the Anheuser-Busch label beverage is meeting consumers wherever they may engage with their smartphones and tablets. This is a prime example of mobile's growing presence in brands' marketing strategies.
 
"The customer is going to participate in the Super Bowl in so many different environments," said Mark Tack, vice president of marketing at Vibes, Chicago. "For a brand to provide an opportunity for customers to participate where ever they are in their own environment - it's really smart.
 
"That really speaks to the value of mobile - the on-the-go medium that wherever they are the customer will be engaging," he said. "You can be at a bar, in your living room, you can be at your friend's house, you can be in a Starbucks, you can be in a mall. 
 
"There are so many places and so many ways to be engaged."
 
Fan Zone app screen shot

Interact everywhere
Mr. Tack is affiliated with neither Bud Light nor the Super Bowl. He commented based on his expertise.
 
Bud Light could not be reached before press deadline.

The Bud Light Web site has a call-to-action to download the Fan Zone app. The Fan Zone app has its own call-to-action -- enter to win a trip for two to the Bud Light Hotel and Super Bowl XLVIII in New York City. 

Android and iOS versions of the Fan Zone app can be downloaded for free at Google Play and the Apple App Store, respectively.

Fan Zone is a real-time, social sports game, which enables users to earn rewards for watching sports. 

In December 2012, Bud Light launched another campaign leading up to Super Bowl 2013, which featured a retail promotion and sweepstakes and leveraged QR codes to drive entries (see story). 
 
"The bar keeps getting set higher and higher for mobile engagement," Mr. Tack said. "The consumer appreciates having a way to interact with vendors on their smartphones that gives them the 'wow' factor.
 
"If you can really wow a customer, you have that ripple effect," he said. "If you're out and about and you have that experience on your phone, you're going to talk about it and you're going to share it."

Final Take
Kari Jensen is staff writer on Mobile Marketer, New York